On being a polyglot...

New disclaimer:

I actually am happy this blog is categorized as high school reading level. Considering English not being my 1st language I do think it is quite an achievement! Hehe...

More than once people asked me how many languages I speak and usually the answer they get is either a "blah" meaning nothing at all or I completely avoid answering it. The reasons are:
1. it is hard to define what it means to "know" or to be able to "speak" a language;
2. I really don't know because I have exposure to many but nowhere close to being fluent enough to fully communicate with others;
3. and of course I don't want to sound cocky as I really am a humble and a nice person! ;)

My goal in life is to learn as many languages as I can because I think that is the best way to learn about a culture. Of course it is not possible to be fluent in more than a handful but I enjoy the stimulation a language offers in reshaping my thinking about cultures and the world. Here it is all my encounters and experience with different languages if you really want to know:
Cantonese: Of course it is my native and I feel the urge to defend it whenever people think it is not a real language but a dialect. Personally I think it is way more fun and colorful than the dry and dull Mandarin. My goal is to teach Cantonese at the college level again someday.
English: I was fascinated by it since I was little as I thought it was cool to be able to speak a language so different from my own and communicative to the entire world. I was fortunate to attend a semi-international elementary school but had a tough time handling all subjects in English. I hated the teachers so much that eventually switched to a regular Chinese governement/public school which was then way too easy for me. My English skills soared and was perfected during the year as an exchange student at the University of Utah. Defintely the best year of my college life.
Mandarin: Had no problem understanding since both parents speak it with my older bro. I refused to speak it at home when I was young however as I thought it was "uncool" that none of my peers spoke it at the time. Who would have thunk (I think this word is "cool" as well btw) I would be a teacher of this "uncool" language now?
Indonesian: I was left living in Indonesia for 3 months alone with my Indonesian relatives at the age of 8 in the name of curing my health problems. Had ton of fun to begin with that most of my relatives there spoke limited Chinese which forced me to pick up Indonesian at light speed. After 3 months I'd had enough of living away from my family and I had no desire of receiving Indonesian education (I don't think I would enjoy being converted into Islam) that I demanded to be sent back home. But now I'm amazed at times how much I still remember after all these years with that brief exposure to the language and the culture.
Sign Language: Thanks to Berinda, Brother Yuen, and Sister Fung that I picked up CSL (technically HKSL) at church as there was a need for interpreters for the deaf members. It was really an eye opener to learn the signs and interacted with the deaf communities in Hong Kong and later Macau on my mission. They are the nicest and the most humble people I have ever met. Even the visit to the deaf school in Quanzhou China with the YAs made me want to give back and do something for them again in the near future.
Italian: Took a year course during freshman year. It was my last choice of foreign language class but I felt I had to learn a new language to keep me sane from the boring biology classes. The Italian Diction class I took at the U of U was super fun but I keep wondering why I had the guts to take that class with everyone else being senior vocal majors. I did somehow mysteriously get an "A" in the end!
Japanese: I was one class shy of being a Japanese minor in college but just wanted to know more so that I know what I was eating or watching while enjoying my favorite Japanese snacks or the crazy Japanese TV shows.
Spanish: One year at the U and one year at CUHK. The two teachers at the U were wonderful while the one at CU was a total slacker. The good thing is I don't have to worry about not having exposure to it now being in a state where Spanish is pretty much the 2nd language. Many of my students are of Latino descent as well.
Tagalog: Did not really learn it formally but the fellow Filippino missionaries taught me quite a bit. Learned the lines for ice-breaking so the Filippinas would really open up when I approached them. It was amazing to get to know these people who have always been a part of Hong Kong culture but often neglected by the locals.
French: Took a summer intensive course at the Y. The American teacher was actually a classmate of mine but I learned more about language teaching than the language per se. He has very creative and organized teaching skills that I later integrated into my own teaching. I love how things are pronounced... tres beau...
Hebrew: I wanted to take the intensive summer course at the Y as well but felt it was way too intensive than I expected that I dropped out after a week. The teacher was very experienced but the methodology was too traditional for me. I am glad he still recognized me and said hi to me afterwards without sounding mad...
Korean: In preparation for the Asian tour with the YAs, I studied a bit of Korean on my own that I wanted to fully experience the culture. I memorized a few lines in Korean that I fooled most of the group that I spoke Korean! But I am so proud with the help of a Korean classmate that I ran the entire Korean supertitles of the show on my own not really knowing how to read Korean!
German: It has been a little over 2 months since class started but my intension is more on language teaching observation rathan than really learning the language per se. The experience so far has been very enjoyable and I even want to visit Germany now because of the things I have learned. I'd better go back to study for the test tomorrow now! Tschus!